


Fire Dancer

by orphan_account



Series: In which Dave is part fire elemental [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Flashbacks, Implied or Off-stage Rape/Non-con, M/M, Prostitution, Triggers, actually it's more of a sex slavery, i don't know how to put it, sort of, type thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-03
Updated: 2013-01-18
Packaged: 2017-11-09 03:05:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/450557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John is visiting his friends in their village for their biannual get together. While he’s there he sees the most beautiful person he has ever laid eyes on. Unfortunately, there might be one or two things getting in the way of them even becoming friends. For example the ‘person’ isn’t completely human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where did all the beauty go?

**Author's Note:**

> You should listen to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9jKb_sGT2w when you see "It happened suddenly, there was no warning whatsoever." It goes along with the dance. It will help with the imagery. Also, social status is inspired by hemospectrum but there isn’t actually any difference in blood color. Kids are placed based on eye color.

In small cottage there are only so many ways for a grown man to keep himself entertained. John had quickly run out of these ways and was left lying on the floor groaning in boredom.

He had been visiting Jade, Rose, and Kanaya for the first time in quite a while. In most situations this would be ideal, three pretty girls to hang out with, but one of them was his cousin, and the other two were in a relationship so that made it more awkward than fun. For John at least. The girls were plenty entertained just sitting around, drinking tea, and talking about ‘girl stuff’. John, however, was not entertained by tea and girl talk. He was bored by it. His cries of 'this is stupid' went ‘unnoticed’ though.

After being ignored for the umpteenth John decided he would explore his cousin’s village. There was no need for him to hang out with those losers to have fun. He could have tons of fun on his own. Huffing he walked out of the house, slamming the door as he left. Then he looked around at all strangers and gulped. He hoped the locals would be as nice as Kanaya and Jade.

It only took a few minutes for him to come to the conclusion that it was one of the nicest places he had ever been to.

Everyone wore an array of greens. Some clothes were closer to yellow, while other was closer to teal. But they all seemed to get along just fine. People always waved to him as he passed. Smells of bread and meat wafted out of stores and houses filling his nose. One nice woman even offered him a piece of bread for free. It had been lightly singed and she didn’t want to make someone pay for it, because that would be cruel.

All the people seemed so wonderful and friendly, unlike in his home town. There, everyone wore almost exactly the same shade of blue and plotted against each other or talked about high quality they were compared to lower classes. He did have a few good friends, but it seemed like friend making was much easier here.

At some point, John acquired a small fan club. Three young girls in lime green were following him, prattling about a fire show that was supposed to be happening. He listened attentively. It sounded surprisingly interesting for a place so small, not that there was anything wrong with being small; he just wondered why blue and higher towns didn’t get ‘fire shows’. When he asked the girls this, they just shrugged.

“It’s real amazin’ though. You’ve gotta see it. I get the heeby jeebies whenever I watch one. I bet you’ll looove it. Take yer girly friends with you when you go!” said the oldest girl whose name was Eterna. She was almost John’s age. John shrugged.

“I’m not sure if my friends would like-”

“Of courssse they would like it! It’s dazzling. No girl can resssissst the charm of sssparklesss. That’sss jussst not natural!” Said the other girl Torpid. She was a year younger.

The youngest girl didn’t say much. She mostly chewed on her thumb and watched John talk. Once in a while she would murmur in agreement when the girls would tell him something particularly interesting about how fire shows worked.

Eventually the girls had to leave him alone and help with their mothers’ chores. With them gone John found himself suffering from more severe boredom. But this time it didn’t last as long.

He wandered around aimlessly for a few minutes, and then, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a flash of blond hair. He turned towards it, assuming he would see Rose. He was surprised when instead he saw a man dressed in red with a black veil covering the top half of his face.

At first it wasn’t intentional. He didn’t mean to start stalking him. He just felt compelled to follow and make sure it really wasn’t Rose. Then he noticed that the way the other man walked was captivating. He had a steady rhythm, like he was following the beat of a drum. His form was so relaxed and utterly perfect. There was a slight sway in his step, but it was a balanced sway. It didn’t look like he would fall or anything, it just looked beautiful. As though he was dancing. He couldn’t believe someone wearing red could be so…so…

Pretty. Comely. Attractive. Those words did not even begin to describe how absolutely gorgeous the person was. Before John knew it, almost an hour had passed. The man didn’t do much besides stroll around town and occasionally buy something. Quite a few times he even looked over the crowd with his eyes honing in on each and every face, before walking again like nothing strange had happened. John was honestly surprised he had not been caught, but he decided not to question that blessing.

Normally John didn’t care much about the social order but if it got out that someone of his status was stalking someone in the lowest class possible, it could be bad for business. Who wants to spend money at a bakery whose heir spends his time stalking lowly peasents?

After thinking it over, John decided maybe he should stop pressing his luck and head back to his cousin’s. It was kind of rude for him to just abandon them in favor of watching a nice looking guy walk around for a few more hours. Even if he would really like to do so.

Since he started walking away, he was no longer looking at Dave. Since he was no longer looking at Dave, he missed the way his lip curled up into a very subtle smirk of amusement. Instead he got to see a very similar smirk on Rose while he babbled on about the man he saw.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked narrowing his eyes.

“Oh nothing. I simply find it endearing how easily you’ve developed a crush.” She answered patting him lightly on the head. John rolled his eyes and pushed her hand away.

“It’s not a crush. He’s just…interesting. Or something. Shut up. Stop smiling like that!” He started play slapping her away as she continued to look at him with her knowing smirk. “Jaaaade. Rose is being smarty pants know it all again!” John whined as Rose started laughing at him. His cousin was busy in her room with Kanaya so she didn’t bother responding. “What are they doing in there anyway?” John asked.

“Kanaya is tailoring flame retardant clothes for her. You’re next by the way.”

“What do I need flame retardant clothes for?” John asked, a little worried.

“For the fire show of course. Weren’t you paying any attention when we were discussing our plans earlier?” she chided.

“No. Everything sounded boring so I left.” Rose sighed and shook her head.

“Well regardless of whether or not you want to, we are going to be attending a performance only showed to middle caste and lower. We don’t have things like this in our towns so it will be a new experience.” After a moment Rose’s words sunk in and John was able to connect it with the event the girl from earlier had been telling him about.

“Oh I’ve heard of those!” he said excited to show off his ‘knowledge’. “Some girls were telling me about it earlier. I can’t wait. It sounds really interesting. Eterna was telling me about the legend of one fire dancer who is actually made of fire. Or he can touch fire without getting burned. Something like that!” Rose scoffed and shook her head.

“That’s simply a fairy tale fabricated by the show’s hosts in order to bring more attention. It’s all composed of tricks and illusion crafted in a way that makes it seem like they are touching the fire but it never actually come in contact with their skin. I’ve read up on it.” John looked at her skeptically.

“Rose. Please. I heard my information from people who have actually seen fire shows. I think they know a little bit more from actually experience than you know from your books.” Rose just sighed and didn’t bother countering. It was a lost battle. “Anyway, when is the show supposed to start?” he asked, excited again.

“I’m pretty sure they start whenever it gets dark outside. If want a specific time, I’m afraid I can’t tell you. Everyone just goes outside when they see the large fire being lit outside their windows. At least that’s what Jade and Kanaya have told me.” Almost as if saying their names summoned them Kanaya and Jade came out of the room. They both wore identical green robes with sleeves that went past their hands. When John looked closer he realized Rose was also wearing the same robe, only in orchid to represent her status.

Kanaya was holding up a blue robe, smirking at him. “Are you ready to be fitted?” she asked. John gulped and went into the room with her. Rose and Jade made small talk while ignoring the yelps and screams of “too tight!!!” coming from the room next to them.

They didn’t pay any attention to John until he and Kanaya walked out of the room, with John’s torso wrapped tightly in blue fabric that hung straight from the hips down. Underneath it he wore silver leggings and dark blue flats. Rose clapped, while Jade whistled approvingly. Kanaya did a sweeping bow then went to stand next to Rose. Jade clapped John heartily on the back. He just frowned at her, trying to loosen the belt around his waist.

“Does it really have to be so tight? I don’t think it’s necessary.” Kanaya waved off his worries.

“Trust me John, the compression of the garb around your waist looks spectacular on you. Having it any other way would undermine your exceptional figure. You’ll get used to the feeling after a while, and completely forget that fact that you have clothes on. It will feel like a second skin.” John blinked at her and nodded slowly.

“Uh, yeah. Sure. If you say so.” Sighing, he turned his head towards the window. Looking out he saw that there was a large fire being built. “Hey, I think the thingy ma bob is starting up!” he told them excitedly, pointing. Without waiting for them to realize what he was talking about, he ran out the door heading to where the commotion was. A sizable crowd had already formed. John rushed to the very front where they were still working on making the fire grow.

Off to the side John heard a loud wolf-whistle. He turned his head to see where the sound came from and was greeted by the three girls from earlier. He waved happily when he saw them. “Yer lookin’ mighty fine.” Eterna said with a wink. John blushed and laughed.

“Uh, thanks! You look good too.” Her plain clothes from earlier had been replaced with a long sleeved dress that brushed along the ground. Instead of long sleeves covering her hands, she wore gloves. Her friends, who were trailing behind her, wore similar clothes.

They gathered around him again, just like before. “The show you came for isss going to be a sssplendid one.” Said Torpid. Before John could inquire what made this show so ‘sssplendid’ Torpid continued. “Thessse men are rumored to have the bessst fire dancer ever to appear in any show around the world. At least, that’sss what a little birdy told me.” She licked her lips with her disturbingly long tongue. “They alssso told me that the dancccer could be thought of asss very pleasssing to your eyesss.” John turned his attention away from her and watched the people setting up the fire.

“Hmmm. Well whether or not they’re attractive I don’t really care. I just can’t wait to see whether what you said is true or not! I mean, people who can touch fire? That has to be the coolest thing ever.” John grinned and the other girl rolled her eyes.

“If that isss what you want to think, go ahead. Your reasssoning ssseemsss like that of a child but ok. For the record, I am only here to check on the reliability of my sssourcccesss.” John openly laughed at the way she pronounced her ‘s’ sounds. Torpid ignored him.

“Don’t mind her hun. She’s always got her panties in a wad. Tryin’ to be all sophisticated an’ shit. Even when she was a little girl she was tryin’ to act like an adult.” Eterna told him. John laughed again but didn’t comment.

It was another few minutes before Rose, Kanaya, and Jade found him. Kanaya and Jade already knew John’s new friends, so only Rose needed to be introduced. Then they all sat down and chattered while the fire kept growing. 

It happened suddenly, there was no warning whatsoever. The crowd was taken over by a hush. Everyone stopped talking at the same time. Out of nowhere an arch of people with various instruments appeared around the fire. After a silent count off one person started playing. It started out quietly at first. It was just a gentle hum of some sort of instrument. Then it slowly escalated, getting louder and louder until a person started playing a drum. The gentle pounding was necessary in order to keep a steady beat for everyone else. John licked his lips and kept his eye glued to the fire. No one was talking. Everyone was watching, waiting for the dancer to start.

The outline of a figure could be seen behind the blaze. Or was the person…in the blaze? Yes, they were actually inside of the inferno, standing like the hotness didn’t matter. Slowly, like he had all the time in the world, a man walked out. The crowd gasped when they saw him immerge from the heat. There was no doubt about it; the flames had actually touched his skin. Even Rose was shocked. ‘How’s that for tricks and illusions?’ John thought. They could feel the scorching burns on their skin even from so far away, but the man didn’t seem bothered at all. He just stepped out of the fire like he was getting out of the shower.

When John got a good look, he recognized him as the blond man from before. His hair looked even paler than last time, due to the light behind him. This time he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Just red pants that hung loosely on his hips. The veil was still in place though. John thought it looked nice. It added to his mystery.

His dance was slow, following the beat of the drums. His hips swayed elegantly, his feet moved in wide circles, his arms were long and kept up in the air making large sweeping motions. He kept a steady rhythm the entire time. Ebbing and flowing with the music. It was even better than watching him walk.

As the music started get faster, so did the dancer. He kept making the same movements, only quicker. Every once in a while he would spin around on one foot. He stayed near the fire the entire time. So close that if he moved his hand an inch in the other direction, or made the wrong movement with his foot, he would be touching it. John had a feeling it didn’t matter whether or not he made contact with it though it though. He stayed close by to give the illusion that he needed to be careful even though he probably couldn’t get burned.

Within a few minutes the beat had picked up considerably. He started spinning even more, and a few times leaped from one end of the ‘stage’ to the other. Some of his movements were stationary though. He would stand in the middle and move his hips like a belly dancer with long arms framing his face.

He moved his hips up with quick, sharp movements, sometimes making them go in a large circle. He turned his back to the crowd and shook his hips so fast it seemed as though they were vibrating. He raised his hands up in a circle then crossed his wrists at the top. With his back still facing the crowd he continued dancing and moving his hips like before. Each roll of the pelvic bone captivated John more than the last.

Eventually, more drums were added, making the percussion even more prominent. The man turned around and his hands combusted. Everyone in the crowd screamed in horror, except John who was too slacked jawed to make a sound. The fire crept from his hands, to his wrist, up to his elbow where it stopped. There was nothing but glowing red heat. Several people in the audience seemed scared for their lives but the fire dancer continued like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. For him it probably was the daily routine.

The dance picked up the pace after his arms became like pyre. It was more intense than before. There were a lot more leaps and sometimes he stayed in the air for extended periods of time twisting and turning in ways that no human could ever manage. It wasn’t flying though. He was just hovering above the ground.

One time he jumped up high into the air and twined his legs with the bonfire. The entire crowd gasped again. He hung upside down like it was something solid, not just heated gasses lapping at the sky. While he was upside down his veil fell off. In that moment John could have sworn his blue eyes locked with the dancer’s vibrant red.

The man caught his veil with a hand shaped from fire then fell to the ground gradually. When he landed he did another large sweep with his leg. He was only on one foot, leaning mostly on his toes with his knee so bent he was almost sitting on the ground. His equilibrium was incredible.

He spun a couple times while he was on one foot. John noticed his foot had turned to flames too so all he really was use his flaming ankles to rotate his body. It looked like an incredibly skilled and complicated move. John wondered if anyone else realized how amazing it was.

After he finished spinning he stood up he walked towards the crowd, following the pace of some sort of wind instrument. It was slow, beautiful, but most of all he looked dangerous. His eyes were as red as the fire, and even though his hands looked human again, there were still embers flickering on his skin.

Everyone backed away, but John stayed right where he was. The man rewarded his bravery, which could also be called stupidity, by dropping the veil on his head and running a slow, impossibly warm, hand down his cheek, all while smirking. John could have sworn his mouthed ‘hey there.’

But before he knew what happened the man flash stepped away and resumed dancing to the quick pace of the drums. He spun like a top that stayed in one place. His performance became a fast paced ballet. Each move was balanced and elegant but set to the quick beating of the drums. He did pirouettes, splits, batteries, and a million other things. And he did them quicker than any ballerina could ever dream of.

John had no idea how long the performance lasted. He was in his own world where there was only him and the dancer. Things were happening so fast his eyes could hardly keep track. One second the man was blowing fire out of his lungs, the next he was on the floor with his back arched, supporting his body with legs and arms made of flame. Everything he did was amazing and spectacular and wow John would never be able to see something as great as him ever again.

But all things must come to an end. The finale was approaching. Everyone could tell by the Dave stood in the center still, focusing on giving them an ending they would remember for the rest of their lives. He lifted his arms above his head and walked back with his hips swaying sensually while the fire above him grew even bigger than the bonfire. It nearly engulfed him. Then without warning both fires went out and the music stopped.

It was quiet for a long time. No one knew how to respond. Then the crowd erupted in a roar of applause, whistles, and any other noise an audience makes when they’re pleased. John was louder than anyone.

The fire lit back up but the dancer was nowhere to be seen. A man got in front of the fire and coughed loudly to get everyone’s attention. “I’m glad you were all pleased by the show. There will be another dance shortly, but for now please sit tight while our dancer rests.” Then he left.

Now that the show was over, John realized he was all alone. The entire crowd has migrated further back when the fire dancer started walking close. His green village friends were all staring at him in a mixture of aw and surprise. Rose looked like she was trying to hide a smile.

“Well, that was interesting. I certainly hadn’t been expecting it.” Rose said with her eyebrow cocked. “I wasn’t aware you and the ‘fire dancer’ were also acquainted. “ John looked at her confused as she crawled closer to him. “Could it be he was the man you were stalking earlier?” She asked.

“Wait, wait, wait, what do you mean by also? Do you know him?” Rose shrugged her shoulders.

“Maybe, maybe not. I believe I questioned you first though, so you are obliged to answer first.” John rolled his eyes.

“Er…yeah he’s the guy I was talking about earlier.” His eyes flickered to look at the green ladies. They were all talking amongst themselves so he was safe telling Rose. “I think you might have been right about that crush. He was just…breathtaking! I mean, oh my god, have you ever seen anything that amazing before?” Rose nodded.

“Actually, this isn’t the first time I’ve attended one of his shows, however this is the first time I’ve seen one under such circumstances. This is…difficult to explain. Basically the dancer you saw, is my half brother Dave.” She watched his face for his reaction. The only thing he could do was gape at her.

“He’s your what? How? I mean…what even is he?” John asked looking at the fire with wide eyes.

“That’s rather difficult to explain. I think I’ll let him tell you himself. Judging by the way he acted earlier, he plans on formally introducing himself after the show.” Rose said winking. John blushed, looking at the veil in his hand. It hadn’t lost any of its warm. He wondered how it hadn’t caught on fire when it touched the man’s flaming hand.

Most of the crowd moved forward again now that the dancer was nowhere to be seen. The green village girls surrounded John and started bombarding him with questions. “Were frightened when he approached you?” “Why didn’t you run away??” “Why did he give ya that black thing?” “Isss he a friend of yoursss?” John shrugged in response to all of the questions and looked at Rose.

“Leave John alone. I’m sure he’s just as confused by this ordeal.” She said smirking. “I’ll shine some light on this later. But for now, just enjoy the show.” Everyone looked at Rose and John suspiciously but they let it drop, which John was grateful for. It gave him time to think about what the hell he would do if/when the dancer came up to him after the show.

Then a violin started playing. John let himself get lost in the music and dancing again. Thinking could wait.


	2. It feels like I’m stuck in a dream

The dancer seemed to take an eternity to finish all of his dances, not that anyone minded. The moon was high in the sky by the time he took his final bow. The fire went out, leaving the dancer alone, under moon and starlight while everyone whooped and hollered. They all clapped so hard their hands turned red but that didn’t matter. None of them had ever seen something so moving, they needed to show him all of their appreciation.

John was lost in the sea of applause, but that was ok. He didn’t need the dancer’s attention right away. He had just witnessed the most astonishing show of his life. Euphoria was high in the air, and rushing through his veins. Tears were welling in his eyes from pure joy.

The ovation lasted nearly three full minutes. The entire time the dancer stood still, eating up the praise like it was the most delicious meal he had ever tasted. 

The crowd loitered around for a while, talking about how amazing the show had been, and things of that nature. But for some reason all of John’s friends decided it would be in their best interest to abscond the second he turned away from them. He cursed them silently for abandoning him then started looking around for the dancer. He assumed that the man would find him, not the other way around, but it wouldn’t hurt to at least try.

His heart was thumping loudly in his chest as he thought about the situation. He was about to have a conversation with someone who he had stalked for about an hour earlier that day. He hoped to god that he didn’t mess up and mention anything he saw.

While he was fretting over how to carry a conversation and not bring up his stalking, he failed notice that all the voices around him suddenly got quiet. He also didn’t notice the soft, but barely concealed footsteps walking closer. And it didn’t even register the way the air temperature shot up a couple hundred degrees. He did, however, notice when a hand landed on his shoulder, effectively making him jump two feet in the air from surprise. “Eeeep!” he screamed causing everyone whose eyes weren’t already on him to look. Behind him he heard a soft chuckle.

“Oh dude, you are so fucking oblivious.” A raspy voice, that was right next to his ear, told him. When he turned around he saw white-blonde hair and glowing red eyes. Again he yelped, making the dancer smirk. 

“It’s you!” He exclaimed with wide eyes. “What’s wrong with your voice?” John winced when the question slipped out. He didn’t mean to be so rude, he was just shocked. When he envisioned the voice of someone who moved with such grace, it was as smooth and elegant as him. Instead, his ears had to work on overdrive to understand the low, rough and scratchy sound. He almost thought it sounded painful to talk.

In John’s opinion the sound wasn’t entirely unpleasant, just surprising. But at the mention of his voice’s uniqueness, the dancer’s face visibly tensed. John gulped, hoping he hadn’t angered the man. It probably wasn’t smart to get on the bad side of someone with control over fire.

“Blowing smoke out of your lungs for a roaring crowd can really fuck up a person’s vocal chords. Why? Does it bother you?” it was asked monotonously but John could hear the slight bite at the end of his words. He shook his head.

“No, not at all! It sounds kind of nice actually. I was just wondering. Sorry.” Well, this was already going swimmingly. Obviously they were going to come out of this being the best of friends. Thank god John had been blessed with such wonderful social skills! There was no possible way his decision to talk to him was going to backfire. The sarcasm here is so thick it’s almost breaking the fourth wall and dripping out of your computer screen.

There was an awkward pause. “So…you did a great job.” 

Dave looked at him for a minute, like he was still trying to figure out whether or not to be offended. In the end he decided not to dwell on the pseudo insult and allow the subject change. “Duh I did a great job. I always do a great job. Hence why I have this job. I’m the fucking master of wowing everyone with my sick, nasty skills. Crowds of people are so shocked when they see my sweet moves they just start doing acrobatic fucking pirouettes off the handle. I am like the Michael Jordan of dancing.”

“Who’s Micheal Jordan?”

“No idea, don’t interrupt me. As I was saying, there’s no need to tell me I did a great job because that statement is redundant. It’s like telling a bee “oh wow, you made some honey”. That’s what bees do so you don’t need to point it out and why are you laughing?” John put a hand over his mouth and tried to stops the guffaws. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just, I thought you were this really cool ninja or something when I first saw you. But you’re rambling about who even knows what and it’s hilarious. I can’t help but just, ahahahahah!” The dancer rolled his eyes and patted John harshly on the back

“Yeah, yeah, hardy har har, insult Dave’s voice then start laughing at him for no reason. You’re a real swell guy, John.” The last comment got John to stop laughing. He took his hand away from his mouth and looked Dave in the eye. Dave seemed to notice his slip and had enough shame to look slightly embarrassed.

“So, your name is Dave?” John asked. Dave nodded. “Ok then, Dave, how exactly do you know my name?” Dave scratched behind his head, looking a little bit. Embers were flickering on his arms, and his cheeks had little licks of flames rising on them. 

“Well, I talked with Rose a little bit before the show and she told me.” Was all he said. 

Then there was another lull in the conversation. It wasn’t quite as awkward as the first one though. Not for John at least. He was busy trying to look Dave’s abs without seeming like he was ‘checking them out’, because he definitely wasn’t doing that. He was just appreciating the other male’s body in a completely platonic way. 

“So, how does it feel to get a real look at this hot bod instead of following me, about thirty feet?” John’s eyes widened and a blush spread across his face. He ‘nonchalantly’ broke eye contact with him. Suddenly his nails seemed a lot more interesting.

“Wh-what are you talking about?” John asked, trying act like he didn’t know anything, and failing. “I’m pretty sure I’ve never met you before tonight, heh…” 

Dave rolled his eyes, then cupped John’s cheeks not those cheeks you pervs with both hands, and forced John to face him. That didn’t stop his blue eyes from continuing to avoid his gaze anyway. “John…” He whispered. His voice dropped an octave, sending a chill down John’s spine.

“Dave…” He whispered back, but he couldn’t achieve the same toe-curling tone. His voice was naturally high and just a smidge squeaky. 

Sighing Dave papped his face then let it go. “Fine, sorry for the mistake. The only reason I talked to you was because I thought you were him. I guess I’ve gotta go try and find that guy now. I mean, he must really want to talk to me since he followed me around for so long. See ya later, dude.” Dave started walking away and John was confused.

“Wait, what? Stop! Get back here!” Dave stopped walking but didn’t return to John’s side. John huffed childishly then stomped over to the other man, stopping directly in front of him. “Fine, that guy was me. Happy?” He said conceding. Dave looked at him with a raised an eyebrow.

“Why should I be happy?” John slapped his arm lightly.

“You are an ass, did you know that? I’m pretty sure you do and just don’t care. Jeez, I still can’t get over how lame you actually are.” Dave put a hand over his heart and closed his and threw his head back in mock pain.

“Oh, John, you wound me. We’ve only just met, and already you’re impaling my heart with daggers of the sharpest degree. Your quick witted insults and staggering revelations of my true nature are too much for my poor soul to bear.” John rolled his eyes and jokingly punched him in the arm. 

“Whatever, looser!” Then he remembered something. “Oh wait, I almost forgot to ask.” He reached into folds of his robe and pulled out the thin black fabric Dave had given him. “Why did you give this to me?” Dave shrugged.

“I dunno. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.” He answered simply. “Also, if you haven’t guessed already, it’s flame retardant so I would suggest keeping it.” John turned it over in his hands, then out of impulse raised it to his nose and sniffed. “Gross dude, what the fuck?” John giggled and wrapped it around his head.

“It smells kind of good actually. It’s like smells smoky and warm.” Dave sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“Wow. You are weird.”

“Your face is weird.” 

The silly banter continued on for almost an hour. John was surprised how quickly they fell into such a comfortable conversation. He wasn’t really sure exactly how he felt about Dave, but at the very least he knew he wanted the two of them to become good friends. Unfortunately these good feelings could only last so long. 

At some point the show’s producer decided to interrupt them by coming out of nowhere, shouting for Dave. “What the hell are you- oh. Hello. Who is this?” he started out yelling but his features softened when he saw the colors of John’s outfit. Dave glared at the man and didn’t answer. “I don’t know why I even bother asking you anything.” He snapped irritably at Dave. Then he shot a toothy smile towards John. “I’m sorry if this faggot has been giving you trouble. The retard likes to try and hump anything he can get to pay attention to him for more than two seconds. I’ll take him away if you would like.” Dave face lit up red. John couldn’t tell if he was because he was embarrassed or angry. The look on his face was leaning towards angry. Way towards angry. In fact, John wasn’t sure why he even considered embarrassed an option, Dave was definitely pissed.

“Um, he’s been no trouble at all, sir.”

“Please, call me Phil.”

“Er…ok then. But really, Dave and I were having a nice conversation. There’s no need to worry.” The man laughed, like that was the most preposterous thing he’d ever heard. John already hated him. 

He was short, with several chins, and his clothes were a nasty yellow with hints of green, just like his eyes. People who born into yellow were known for being sneaky and generally unpleasant. A lot of them were giant kiss ups when it came to blue or higher. John didn’t think of himself as prejudice, but he had never met someone yellow who he liked.

Despite John’s assurance that Dave wasn’t bothering him, the man in yellow started to drag him away by his wrist. At first Dave struggled but a harsh strike to the face made him calm down. John was frozen and confused. Was he actually allowed to treat his workers like that? He acted like Dave wasn’t even a person. He leaned in close and tried to whisper but John could hear him perfectly. He was the type of person with a naturally loud voice. 

“Listen up you little shit; you don’t bother people who are even close high up. I’m trying to get them to let us put on a show in a village high than vomit green, and the last thing I need is you trying to fuck one of them and giving me a bad reputation. You need to learn how to fucking behave.” Dave just ripped his arm out of his grip, and then stormed away.

The man glared at him behind his back. When Dave was completely out of site he returned his attention to John and gave him another toothy smile. “Forgive his rudeness. Those mutants can be quite…difficult when it comes to dealing with real people. I hope he didn’t do anything to offend you.” John narrowed his eyes at the man.

“What do you mean ‘mutant’?” John asked puzzled. He had heard the word tossed around a few times before, but he never really knew what one was. He figured it was just some sort of silly legend.

“Oh, you don’t know? Well then, how to explain…hrm…” He mumbled, lacing his fingers together. “You saw his eyes right?” John nodded. “Yes, well, that color isn’t natural. No human can have eyes like that; it goes against everything we know! The origins of his birth are a complete mystery. All I know is, I got him for a cheap price when he was young and he’s got me raking in money like there’s no tomorrow. Pretty good for a yellow, eh?” John laughed nervously.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.”

“Anyway, since he’s a mutant, he’s more of a slave than a real person. For whatever reason he still thinks he’s human though. I keep trying to beat it into him that he’s not, but nothin’ seems to work!” John had a feeling he would keep going on about the hardships of slave owner ship if he didn’t cut him off now. He started to inch away.

“Wow, that’s super interesting but I’ve got to go now though. Bye!” And he took off. If the man called after him, John didn’t hear it. He was a little too disturbed.

Everyone was sitting in a circle when he walked through the door of Jade’s house. Simultaneously two pairs of green eyes, and one pair of orchid, looked up at him. All the faces broke out into identical grins when they noticed the flush on his face. Rose decided to break the silence first. “So, did you have ‘fun’ with my brother?” 

John tried to catch his breath before shaking his head. “No, uh, it got really awkward at the end. I mean…” Rose frowned and stood up, flattening out her robe. She walked closer to John and looked him over, checking his neck for hickies.

“I hope he didn’t try to make any unwanted advances. For all the suave he likes to think he carries, he’s that horrible when it comes to having to deal with honest emotions.” John shook his head again.

“No, it wasn’t him who was unwanted. And I mean that in a totally friendly way, stop smiling! It was his…boss I guess? He came up to us and started saying bad things about Dave and even slapped him. It was really scary!” That wiped the smirk of Rose’s face. “Yeah, exactly. Then Dave got angry and stormed off.” Rose sighed and backed away from John.

“That’s a shame. I always figured that man wasn’t treating Dave as well as he should be. In my presence he was nothing but calculatedly polite, so I didn’t want to go around pointing fingers but...” She sat back down, next to Kanaya. John took his place next to Jade. All the girls were staring pointedly at him which made John want to shrink and hide in his robes. “Unfortunately there’s nothing we can do to help, in this situation. I hate sitting back and letting this unfold, but intervening would only mean more trouble for Dave. Also he’s a stubborn bastard that wouldn’t let me do anything even if I tried.” The last part was snapped out. Rose was normally calm, but when it came to family she got a bit nasty. Kanaya rubbed her on the back to try and calm her down.

John swallowed the lump in his throat while he tried to think about whether or not to relay some more happy details of the encounter. Jade beat him to it. “Before that guy came what was it like?” She asked. The she started making kissy faces at him. “Did you confess your looooove for each other?”

“Pfft, yeah. In our first conversation we decided to make declarations of undying love! That’s exactly how it went.” 

“Does that mean soon our group of friends is going to enlarge? In which case, the four of us who currently have partners should practice the art of ‘double dating’. I’ve heard that it’s a delightful way to observe the habits of other couples without coming off as disturbed or stalkeresque. And apparently when you watch how others interact with their lover it helps sharpen your own skills when it comes to effectively pleasing your mate. Considering I’m not always cognizant when it comes to my relations with Rose it would be an excellent chance to strengthen our relationship. Furthermore-” Kanaya would have continued rambling but Rose stopped her by placed a delicate hand over Kanaya’s mouth and whispering ‘sssh’.

“Kanaya, dear, you know I love you but your inability to detect sarcasm is wearing me down to the bone. It will never cease to baffle me how one so smart can at the same time be so dumb. He was joking when he said they ‘declared love for each other’. There are not going to be any double dates anywhere in the foreseeable future.” When Rose was done talking she took her hand away. There was a moment of silence then everyone burst into laughter while Kanaya blushed.

“I…see. Well then.” Was all Kanaya could get out.

After her blunder everyone talked about their plans for tomorrow. It was supposed to be much more active. Once everyone had the details sorted out they got on their nightclothes and went to bed. John slept with the veil next to him. That night his dreams were full of warmth and a pretty blonde boy with red eyes.


	3. Please let me in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if you spot any mistakes please I was tired when I edited this.

The sun was far too bright for John’s taste. He liked it better when it didn't seem to want to burn his face off. Also, he was pretty sure it was way too early in the morning for the sun to even be out. Back in his home village there was always lots of wind and shade so he wasn’t used to the heat. His three friends, on the other hand, seemed to be dealing with the sun's rays just fine. Apparently getting up at ungodly hours in the morning and walking through air so hot and thick it could probably pass for lava was normal for them. Uhg.

John's _real_ reason for feeling so crabby was because he had gotten no sleep. He just felt like blaming the sun because it was mainly his own fault for not going to bed earlier but the sun was out of his control, therefore perfect for blaming. Whenever he would vocalize his accusations at the sun Jade would shoosh him and say it would be worth it when they reached their destination. John had no idea where the green girls were taking him, but apparently they needed to walk on a long, dry road for about fifty miles with no stops for water.

Abruptly Jade and Kanaya turned left into the forest. John almost didn’t follow them in, but Rose caught him and made him turn before he could walk past. Then they followed a trail for what felt like another couple of hours ~~really it was only twenty minutes~~. “Uhg, where are we even-“ Before John could finish his question Jade took him by the wrist and started dragging him away from the path and straight through the trees.

“We’re getting really close! Stop whining already!” she said. John was too busy trying to keep up to respond. Jade was a fast runner.

After about three more minutes of running John was about to start whining again but then he saw something that made his jaw drop. There was in opening in the forest with a gigantic flowing river cut through the middle. The way the sun shined on the water was breathtaking. “Wow Jade, I” His cousin didn’t let him finish. She put a hand over his mouth and “shushed” him loudly. Then she pointed towards the river and mouthed the word “look”. John did as told.

Nothing interesting seemed to be happening. Maybe he was just supposed to enjoy the scenery. He scanned over the area. Just underneath the water he could see the shadow of a fish. Wait…no that was way too big to be a fish. The shadow started coming closer to the surface. Everyone was hidden in the trees, waiting apprehensively. Jade and Kanaya seemed excited, while Rose was curious. John was confused and a little bit scared.

Suddenly a giant splash was heard as the thing broke through the surface of the water. John gaped. Through the sparkling droplets of water he saw white-blond hair and a freckled body. Captivated, his blue eyes locked on the Dave’s lithe form. He dived back into the water, and then rose again, twirling all the while. It was almost like he was dancing, except there was no fire this time. John wasn’t sure what to think of this secret performance. Was he even allowed to see something this private? Despite what his morals were telling him, he couldn’t look away.

At some point Dave stopped swimming and stood still in the water, basking in the warmth of the sun. The sight made John’s throat go dry. Wow. He was just, really pretty. For a second he took his eyes away to ask Jade why she had brought him here, but no one was next to him. It was then that he realized he was alone. ‘Oh god if he catches me he’s going to think I’m a serious creepy stalker for sure!’ John thought. He started to stealthily try and creep away. While he was creeping his foot happened to step on a fragile twig, which snapped in half. The noise seemed resonate throughout the whole forest. Dave was instantly alert and looking the exact direction where John was. The blue boy wasn’t sure if it was luck or if Dave was honestly that skilled.

“Who's there?” He asked with his eyes narrowed. Even thought his voice was quiet, due to the damage his fire did, he was still able to project his voice. He sounded like a hardened criminal on the run for the law, ready to kill anyone who got in his way. John ducked down and tried to stay quiet. It would probably be better to give himself up but he was too scared for such rationalizations.

It was quiet for a minute and John almost thought it would be safe to move again, but then the tree next to him suddenly burst into flames. “If you don’t reveal yourself I won’t be afraid to attack again.” He threatened.

Slowly John stood up, raising his hands in surrender. “Hi, Dave.” He said smiling, sheepishly. Red eyes blinked in recognition. He waved away the flames that had taken over his hand and walked up to John, looking apprehensively at the blue boy who had invaded his sanctuary.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. He was still on guard.

“Uh…I’m not sure? Jade and Kanaya brought me here then absconded! I thought we were supposed to spend the day together but now I have no idea where they are.” Dave chuckled. John could see him relaxing as he walked closer and leaned against a tree. He was happy to have so easily gained his trust.

“Well, I guess you get the honor of spending the day with me, instead of those dorks. Boss probably won’t mind if I take the day off to get in good with a blue blood. I swear if he were any bigger a kiss up he’d be nothing more than a giant pair of lips orbiting the earth, trying to mack on the sun or some shit.” John snickered.

“I have a feeling you don’t really like him. He does seem like kind of a douche. There is no excuse for the way he treats you, even if you have funny eyes! I think they’re pretty.” He started bravely. He was about to start ranting about how much he dislike Dave’s employer but the dancer cut him off.

“Woah, wait what? You think my eyes are pretty? Are you blind? They’re blood red, what about that is pretty?” John shrugged, looking him in the eye.

“I just think it looks nice, is that so wrong?” Little flames appeared on Dave’s cheeks. John figured that must have been his way of blushing. He was tempted to poke them, but that would end up burning him so he kept his hand to himself.

While John was watching the blush he didn’t notice the trail of fire burning through the grass until it wrapped around his ankle. Dave laughed as John jumped around screaming trying to get the fire off him before realizing that there was a river right next to him. He ran over to it and jumped in.

Steaming, literally, John rose up from the water slowly, glaring at Dave who continued to laugh. “I heard from Rose that you like pranks.” He choked out through guffaws. Angrily John stomped out of the water and got up in Dave’s face.

“Not when they’re being played on me!” he tried to sound intimidating but it just came out really whiny, which only made Dave laugh harder.

“Ok, ok. I’m sorry.” He said not sounding apologetic in the least. He helped John out of the water by taking his hand. Even after John was out of the water he didn’t let go. Both of them tried to ignore it and pretend it was a totally naturally thing. “So…what do you want to do?” Dave asked trying to avoid any awkward silences. John only shrugged. “Thanks John, you’re a big help. It’s a wonder why your friends would abandon you.” John rolled his eyes then started thinking.

“Well… I dunno what there is to do around here! Usually Jade and Kanaya visit us in the higher villages. But it can’t be too hard to find something fun, right?”

“How should I know? This is my first time doing something that ISN’T working. I forget how to have fun. You’re going to have to teach me Egbert. Take me under your wing and teach me how to live!” He said dramatically and draped himself around John’s shoulders. He hastily pushed the blond off. It was a hot day and he didn’t need the extra heat added by Dave’s fiery skin. He snickered at John’s reaction.

Dave hesitated a moment before grabbing John's hand again. He squeezed a bit too tight but John didn't let it show. He just grinned at Dave, whose face was carefully blank, and started walking in a random direction.

"So, how is it that you can, uh, be in water even though you're all..." He trailed off, not really sure how to put it. Especially since he didn't even know exactly what Dave was.

The only answer Dave could offer was a shrug. "I don't really know how I work. I'm a mutant so I can't really look it up, or have a doctor tell me." he said offhandedly as if he was mentioning something as simple as the color of the sky. Which, to him, he probably was. It wasn't something he understood, but he had been with it all his life so he just accepted it.

"Oh...ok." Then there was more silence. "Wanna go prank the villagers?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time they got tired of tormenting unsuspecting villagers. John was a bit ashamed to say he used his status to get out of trouble whenever they got caught, partly because that made him a bad prankster. But they never did anything too bad so John figured it was fine. They only did harmless things like dropping a bucket of water over someone's head or lighting someones shoes on fire. It was all in good fun and no one got hurt. 

Once or twice the fire _might_ have gotten a little out of control.

They decided they had done enough pranking when the third mom in a row pointed an angry spoon at them, yelling about how it wasn't ok for men their age to be doing juvenile things like playing with buckets. Even though they didn't care about getting in trouble they decided pissing off more middle aged women probably wasn't the best way for them to be spending their time.

Together the boys sat, in a meadow away from town so no one would interrupt them. The men leaned on each other, playing with hair, rubbing fingers, and sharing touches that seemed so much more intimate than usual. 

The attraction and chemistry between them was so obvious even John noticed it, but neither man knew how to address the feelings. So instead they sat next to each other, with interlocked hands and heart shaped eyes. Both of them chatted up a storm, it was just so easy. Dave listened to everything John said with rapt attention, and John, for the most part, returned the favor, though usually not without commenting on how lame he was. But Dave knew that he didn't really mean it.

The two of them made stupid joke and rolled in the grass, acting like the couple of lovestruck teens. It wasn't until Dave noticed the sun was going down, meaning soon he would have a show, that reality struck him. Suddenly he wasn't just a guy with a crush, he was a freak reaching out for something he couldn't have. Even if John liked him, an actual relationship would never work. At most he would be a piece of arm candy for richer man to show off. John would come to his senses and treat him like everyone else did. A pretty little mutant to admire through a showcase. He started to feel sick to his stomach for even considering something like a relationship. "Being _with John_ ". Ha, what a bunch a baloney. 

For Dave the mood was ruined, though John sat by him happily, without a care in the world, unknowing of the horrible life Dave was doomed to face. The blonde made up the excuse of needing to go practice, even though he never practiced, then ran away before he could hear John ask if he could come watch.

John looked in his direction suspiciously but shrugged it off as Dave liking his privacy. He headed back to the cabin and hoped that the girls were done with whatever they decided to spend the day doing. He wanted to spend more time with them since Dave was gone.

When he got back to the cabin he found that they still hadn't arrived. A bit disheartened he decided start walking around town again. There wasn't much to do in Jade's home, and who knew when the girls would be back.

While he was walking around he got sort of lost. He had no way of knowing where not to go in town so he ended up entering a forest which had a reputation for getting people lost. Unsuspectingly he kept walking, deeper and deeper, until he had no hope of finding his wait out on his own. But the sun was shining through the trees giving John a false sense of security. Light always meant good, right?

Then he heard voices. Naturally he was curious, so he followed their sound. Silently he crept through the woods, trying to stay light on his toes. When he was close enough to make out what they were saying he sat down at a tree and listened in. It sounded like Dave's boss and another man.

"-ticed that your dancer is quite a beautiful specimen. I think you could make a lot of money off him if you used him for a...different type of business. If you know what I mean." Said the other voice. John wasn't quite sure what he meant but it didn't sound good at all. 

"Are you sure? I can't imagine people would want to touch...a mutant." The other man laughed.

"Oh please, that makes it even better for the customers in my business. As long as he is kept under control it will be fine. And trust me, I have ways of keeping them under control." The two men started walking away, talking more business. John was tempted to follow them and keep listening in, but he didn't want to risk getting caught. He headed in the other direction, trying to find his way out so he could maybe tell Dave, or at least Rose. That was when he realized he was lost.

At first he thought if he walked around enough that he could find his way out, but as the sun got lower on the horizon he grew more fearful. Eventually he was just stumbling through the forest, not caring if he got caught. He ran around, bumping into trees, tripping over vines and falling down. It didn't matter how much he ran, he couldn't find a way out. He wished he had payed attention when he walked into the forest so he could at least _try_ to find a way out.

It started to get dark and John was still stuck. He hoped his friends had realized he was missing and came looking for him. Sighing he sat back and decided to place faith in his friends.

While he was waiting he fell asleep. While he was asleep he started to dream, or at least it felt like dreaming. Warm, almost burning, hands lifted him up and it felt like he was flying. The hands carried him gently, as if they were scared they might break him. Soft, low, singing could be heard. To John's ears it was incredibly pleasant. He wished the person would sing louder so he could hear better. He was sad when the voice stopped. He felt his back hit something soft. It was nice, but not as nice as the hands. In his half asleep state he reached out for the other presence that had been there but his hands touched nothing. Sighing he turned over and fell asleep.

While he slept the same feeling as before came. It feel like he was dreaming but he didn't see anything, he only felt. Heated fingers played with his hair, a thumb glided across his cheek, soft lips were pressed against his eye lids, and then his lips. After a while it occurred to John that maybe it wasn't a dream, maybe there really was someone there. He sat up quickly, wondering if it was Dave but no one was there. All was still. He couldn't even feel any heat lingering in the air. Feeling dejected he laid back down. It was just his imagination.

When he woke up in the morning he told Rose about his dream, hoping she could provide some answers. She told him she was as puzzled as he, but a glint in her eyes said otherwise. John didn't press the matter, if Rose didn't want to tell him then it probably wasn't a big deal.

No one was sure how John got home, or when, but they figure it was the doing of one of the villagers. There were women who patrolled the forest at night, making sure no one was lost. They tended to do their work silently so it was no surprise that no one woke up. All of them accepted that as the answer than moved on to other topics.

"It's too bad you missed the show last night John! Dave was even _more_ awesome than the first time. And there isn't going to be another one until next year. I guess that's what you get for being a stupid head who gets lost in woods." Jade tsked at him, like it was _his_ fault he didn't know not to go in the forest.

He glared at her. "How was I supposed to know?" The only response she offered was a stuck out tongue. He rolled his eyes at her petulance. "Anyway, what do you mean "last show"? Aren't there going to be more in other towns and stuff?" Jade shook her head.

"Nope! The guy who...owns him," They all winced at the choice of words, but didn't say anything. "said that we got to see the very last show until next year. Dave is...taking a break or something like that. No more dancing for him." That made John's blood run cold. He remembered the conversation between the men in the forest. What were they doing with Dave that meant he couldn't dance anymore. All the worst possibilities ran through John's head. It made his stomach twist with revulsion. "What's wrong John?" Jade asked concerned. John just shook his head.

"It's...nothing. I just don't have a good feeling about this." Jade rubbed circles on his back, nodding.

"None of us trust that man." Rose said. Her face was blank but underneath he could see anger, lots of anger.

"Due to the mass amount of distrust we feel regarding him and his profession we've decided to take it upon ourselves to investigate. We're going to visit him and confront him about his shady way of conducting business. Hopefully he will be compliant and tell us the truth, but we have a feeling things will not go so smoothly." Kanaya explained, twining her fingers with Rose, trying to calm her down. 

The group talked for a while, trying to get their stories straight so they could go talk to him. If any of them was to suspicious it could ruin the whole plan.

Once they were sure everyone knew what they were doing they left the house, in search of the man.

They asked around town, hoping someone could tell them where he was, but apparently they had packed up and left early that morning. It was strange, and very suspicious. John didn't think about that though, he was just sad he never got to say goodbye to Dave. He had been hoping they could become good friends, but apparently he had to go do some secret shady thing for a year. Jade tried to console him with promises of fun times with them, but it didn't help. John did have fun but with every idle moment his mind was thinking of things that might go wrong.

When their vacation was over everyone was sad. They wished the caste system had placed them in the same villages or at least allowed them to visit more often, unfortunately John and Rose had duties they had to get back to. They all hugged and kissed promising to write each other, like always.

Once vacation was over John started to put all of his energy into finding Dave. He told his dad what he had overheard, and Mr. Egbert also didn't like the way it sounded either. 

But even with the combined efforts of the Egberts and Lalondes they still couldn't find him. After four months of relentless searching they began to give up. It wasn't until almost six months later that they found out where Dave was, and when they did they certainly weren't happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you even write Jade I do not know.  
> P.s. Dave's theme song for this story is [You Love Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5znbzNY0vc0) by Kimya Dawson and it is also what he was singing to john while he slept


	4. The one I've waited for

The day had started out well for John. When he woke up he found a note from his Dad on the table beside his bed. It read: 

JOHN, I AM SO PROUD OF YOU. YOU'RE GROWING UP TO BE A WONDERFUL MAN AND I AM CONFIDENT THAT WHEN YOU INHERIT THIS BUSINESS THAT YOU WILL RUN IT VERY WELL. AS A REWARD FOR ALWAYS BEING SO MATURE AND HANDLING SO MANY RESPONSIBILITIES I AM GIVING YOU THE NEXT FIVE DAYS OFF. YOU DESERVE TO TAKE A BREAK FROM WORKING. HAVE FUN.  
-DAD

Smiling to himself John fell back asleep. When he woke up again the sun was shining bright in his window. Next to his bed was a breakfast of all his favorite foods. He spent at least an hour, relishing in the taste of his Dad's cooking. Even if he sometimes went over board on the baked goods that didn't mean he was a bad cook.

After finishing his hearty breakfast he decided to indulge in a bath. He soaked in the warm water for a good twenty minutes before actually doing any washing. There was no need to rush. He had five days to do whatever he wanted, so why not enjoy the little things? 

When he was done with his bath he found his casual clothes, a pair of dark blue pants and a light blue shirt, laid out on his bed. He got dressed then decided to go out into town and catch up with Vriska and Equius.

They didn't live to far away so he walked instead of taking a horse drawn carriage like he usually did. Unlike most he didn't feel the need to show off his wealth by being driven everywhere he went.

It wasn't long before he was in Vriska's neighborhood. He looked around a bit for his friends. When the two blues came into vision he noticed that it seemed as if, for once, the neighbors were getting along. Vriska waved when she saw his figure off in the distance. "Heeeeeeeey John!" She shouted feeling the need to alert him of her presence since John's eyes weren't too good. John smiled and waved back, with not quite as much vigor. 

"Hi Vriska." He said when he had reached the front steps of her house, where she and Equius were sitting. "Hello Mr. Zahack" He bowed shallowly to the other man. Equius stood up and bowed back, in a much deeper fashion.

"Greetings Mr. Egbert. I do hope the day is serving you well." John laughed at Equius' overly formal ways. He thought it was silly since they were friends but played along anyway.

"Yeah. I'm off work for, like, five days! Since I don't have to spend all my time cooped up in some office signing papers, I decided to come hang out with you guys." Vriska hooked an arm around Johns neck and put him in a half-headlock, giving him a friendly noogie.

"And that was the right decision to make, John! Good boy, I have trained you well." She chuckled before letting him go. John laughed nervously while trying to fix his hair. It was already a mess before Vriska came along but he liked to think of it as an organized mess, not just regular old bedhead.

"Yeah...sure." He agreed. "Anyway, what were you guys talking about before I showed up? You looked like you were actually getting along for once!" Then the two shared a look that was incredibly suspicious looking. John internally groaned. They were up to something. Of course they were up to something. Why else would they be sitting together and acting civil? It was too late to turn back now though, he had already been dragged into whatever they were plotting, that much was obvious by the way they didn't immediately try to change the subject or get rid of him.

Equius gave some sort of sign that John knew meant he wanted Vriska to talk first. He had seen it many times before. It took him a while to figure out what it meant, but Equius used it so often he eventually put the pieces together. "Well, me and my good buddy Equius were talking about a certain...show that's going to be premiered in town for free. I've heard that it's going to be a first for a village that's up this high on the caste system. You wouldn't want to miss out on something as monumental as that, now would you?" John shook his head, uncertainly. "Great! Then how about you join us." Vriska moved in close and whispered,"There will be some great...rewards in store, if you know what I mean." Vriska winked. It took John a minute but then he blushed.

"Oh...oh! You mean, from uh, you?" He squeaked. Vriska laughed and slapped him on the back.

"No, I mean after the show. There's a bidding that goes on, and if you pay high enough you get a special treat." John calmed down considerably and smiled. He thought they had been talking about something dirty!

"Oh! Okay, well gee, that sounds fun! Sure I'll come along." Vriska clapped her hands together, pleased.

"Great! I knew you would. The show doesn't start for a couple hours though but that's okay, we've got to get you ready! This is kind of a big deal, so we can't just have you walking around in...that." John rolled his eyes. Vriska was always playing dress up with him. For some reason she took it upon herself to decide what was acceptable for him to wear. 

The girl started pushing him up the stairs and into her house, with Equius following close behind.

When they got up to her room John found that the two had already been prepared for his arrival. Blue garb, that matched his eyes perfectly, was waiting on her bed for him. John glared at her but Vriska just grinned back at him, innocently batting her eyelashes. John sighed, shaking his head, but agreed to put on the clothes nonetheless. He made Vriska leave the room while Equius stayed to help him get dressed.

"Uh, are you sure? I would hate to cause you to feel uncomfortable, Mr. Egbert." John laughed and waved away his worries.

"It's totally fine, dude. I don't mind at all." He said, starting to strip. "I'm only going to really need you when it comes to the intricate parts of...whatever this is." He said holding it up and trying to figure out what was supposed to be going on.

It took almost twenty minutes for Vriska to be satisfied with John's appearance. She kept saying that Equius wasn't "tying it right". Apparently tying it right meant it being bound so tightly around his torso that he was afraid all of his guts would be forced out. He whined about it being too tight but the blue girl didn't care. She just laughed at him and said it would all be worth it.

By the time all three of them were dressed for the even it was only about 4, the event wasn't going to start for another couple of hours. They decided to spend their time going over the "plan".

"OK, I can't tell you too much because you might chicken out on me, but I'll tell you the basics. First of all it's going to take some money, but you just leave that to me okay?" John nodded. "Good. I'll be doing all the bidding. If the price starts getting really high, which it probably will, I don't want you to get your panties in a bunch and start trying to stop me. If I don't buy it, someone else will. Understand?" John was starting to get a little wary. All of them were plenty wealthy but he didn't want Vriska getting in trouble with her mom, who was kind of a major bitch, because she spent a bunch of money on something for him.

"Um, Vriska? I'm not so sure I'm comfortable with this anymore. I don't want you spending a bunch of money on something just to show of your wealth, or whatever your excuse is." Vriska shook her head.

"No, no. It's not like that. This...gift is for you. Trust me, you'll really like it. Try not to freak out too much though, okay? I've got all of this under control. If you do what I say, everything will turn out juuuuuuuust fine. Besides even if you don't like the gift it's waaay too late for you to back out buddy. These irons are already in the fire. You can't take 'em out yet." She chuckled at her analogy then continued. "After all the bidding and money shit comes the _real_ plan. Again, I can only tell you so much because I don't want to scare you, but when you get to take you're, uh, gift we need you to collect a bunch of information. Try to remember everything you see and feel then report it back to us. This information is the most important part, okay? So make sure you get it!" John nodded weakly.

"You better not end up getting me arrested or something!" He said bitterly. It had happened once, and it wasn't fun.

"Oh please, do you really think Equius would have any part in this if it was "against the law"?" She had a point. Even if he was kind of a shady guy, he would never do something illegal. He was all about obeying the system.

After he got over his fears about the other blue bloods John was able to let himself be really excited. He could see people getting ready for the show outside the window. Stalls were set up and declarations placed everywhere. He was nearly jumping out of his pants to go check it out, but no one was allowed to actually start festivities until every last person was finished setting up. 

In reality it had only been half an hour since John had found out of about the event, he tended not to keep track of the various festivals that went on in his town, but to John it felt like he had been waiting the whole day. 

When it was announced that the event had started John rushed out of the house, tripping over his long clothes, wanting to be first. Vriska followed, laughing at him. Equius just seemed distressed. 

It wasn't long before the whole place was full of blue dressed people, haughtily judging all the stalls run by yellows and browns. John was hopping from place to place trying to figure out what to buy, eat, play. Vriska was really tempted to put a leash on him to calm him down. 

"We're here for one reason John. One! Got it? We need to find out where that show is being held so we can get good seats. If we're really close we have a better chance at winning it. Understand?" John shrugged. He just wanted to have a good time. Vriska muttered something about how incompetent he was. He didn't acknowledge her. 

Despite Vriska's wishes he got away from them and started having fun anyway. He figured when the thing started he would find it easy. As much as they were going on about it, here was no way it wasn't something big and extravagant. 

He only managed to allude his blue friends for so long though. When they caught up to him both were fuming mad. They didn't listen to him when he pleaded for forgiveness. Instead Equius lifted him up then followed Vriska as she lead them to the place. 

There were a bunch of chairs sitting in front of a big empty space with instruments scattered around and a few other miscellaneous objects. Something about the situation was eerily familiar but John was too busy pouting to think about it. No one was even there except for a few people. If it was really that big a deal why weren't there more people. 

"Now you guys stay here and I'll find you something to eat, okay?" John begrudgingly agreed. If he didn't submit now Equius might accidentally break something of his. He was lucky they had come this far with no injuries. 

The two men stayed, obediently, while Vriska went of to go do who knows what. After half an hour John started to get restless again. He stood up real quick then surveyed the area. More people had showed up, which he took as a good sign.

Equius took him by the wrist then forced him to sit back down again."Please. We don't want to upset Serket." John laughed and sat back down, making small talk with Equius.

It wasn't long before the sun was settled on the horizon. It was getting really dark. On "stage" a familiar looking man appeared. He was short and fat and dressed in dirty yellow. He had some greasy stubble on his chin, and what looked like a few burn marks scattered over him. John tried to rack his brain for where he had seen him before, but he just couldn't place him.

Vriska showed up at almost the same time as the man. John noticed that suddenly all the seats were full. "Hey Vriska!" he greeted as she sat down, with a bucket of popcorn between her hands. She shushed him. 'Pay attention' she mouthed. John nodded and looked back up at the man.

"Hello all you fine ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to my one of a kind show. Although I'm sure such intelligent and brave people such as yourselves don't need this warning I'm required to tell you anyway. Nothing you see up here will hurt you. Don't even worry if it happens to come close to you. This performance is perfectly safe so just sit back, watch and enjoy." he bowed deeply, ignoring the various foods and insulting words the blue bloods threw at him. 

After he was gone music started playing. Most people in the blue class liked to act sophisticated, despite their naturally barbaric nature so everyone quieted down to listen. The music was beautiful so for a moment just about everything was silent, except for the brief murmurs shared by people who couldn't close their mouths for more than two seconds.

Then at the corner of the stage a small light shined. Everyone's attention was drawn to it. The light started to grow until everyone could see it was a fire. Suddenly the mans warning started to make sense. There were still a few people who screamed or backed away. Most people stayed still though. At the edge of their seats, waiting to see what would happen next.

The fire kept growing and also it seemed to be moving closer to everyone. People were tense in their seats, forcing themselves to stay put despite their growing fear. When it finally came into view mouths fell open in shock simultaneously. Before their very eyes was a man a lit in flames. John's eyes widened and without thinking he called out "Dave!" There was no reaction from the man on stage. It seemed a little suspicious but he was in the zone, so that was to be expected. It took all the self control in his body to resist from running up and hugging him, right then and there. He turned to Vriska and grinned.But his smile faltered when he saw her face.

Her expression was grim. She didn't seem happy at all that this was Dave. She knew the **whole** whole story behind them, so that confused him. It also worried him. He started to remember what Vriska had said earlier. Then he remembered that time in the forest with the scheming men. Fear gripped his heart. He turned his attention back to Dave.

The dance had begun. It was similar to the first one John had watched, he moved slowly at first, following the beat of the music, but overall there was something much more sensual about it. The clothes he wore were provocative. Over his torso was a thin red veil that just barely covered his chest making the skin shown seem much more shameful. His pants were more loose and seemed to threaten to fall off at any moment. The ways his hips swayed seemed much more alluring than before, as if he was teasing them. John would be lying if he wasn't a tiny bit turned on. 

It was all beautiful as before, the way his legs raised high in the air and how his arms delicately frame his body, but something seemed wrong about it. Something he couldn't explain. It wasn't until Dave began take off the flimsy cloth, at a tantalizingly slow pace, that it hit John. Dave wasn't acting like a dancer, he was acting like a _stripper_. 

_Oh god oh god oh god oh god_ , thought John, suddenly wanting to leave. What had happened to his friend? His eyes were vacant and dead and each time he touched himself he shivered from pleasure. John felt like throwing up. 

"Vriska...", he began tentatively, "Where exactly is the 'gift' you were talking about?" he asked, even though he already knee the answer. Vriska's tight grin assured him all his fears were true. He blanched. 

"This is it John. I remembered you telling me about your dancer friend who you fell in love with, or whatever. When I heard about a guy fitting your description coming into town I figured I'd better show up to make sure." John frowned and looked back at Dave.

"What happened to him?" John asked with concern evident in his voice. Vriska shrugged and returned her attention to Dave.

"I'm not sure. From what I gathered he's been underground for the most part. Like I said, this is his first time in a village this high up, so I don't know much. But I _do_ know that some really horrible things have happened to him. In the worst case scenario he's been putting on shows like these, but in private. I can't be sure of anything more, but it's pretty safe to say whoever was watching these private shows didn't keep their hands to themselves."

He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what. Instead he turned back to Dave and tried to continue watching his display.

The longer he watched, the worse it got. His actions became more and more [slutty] as the dance went on. In fact if John listened hard enough he could almost hear Dave moaning as he ran a hand over his nipple. His arched his back up off the ground then and then lifted one leg up, high in the air. The arm facing the audience was going down his body, leaving a flaming trail in it's wake. 

John looked away again. He was too disgusted. There was no way he would let Dave get into the hands off one of the perverts watching him with lust in their eyes. 

As usual Dave's dance seemed to take an eternity too end. Once it did there were screams and yells of approval from the crowd. The yellow man showed up in front of them and bowed. "I know, I know. Quite a fine specimen, wouldn't you say?" As much as John hated the way he phrased it, he couldn't help but agree. Dave was beautiful. "Now, I'm sure some of you are very hot and bothered under your collars, but for a fine price this thing right here could help you out with that, if you know what I mean." He chuckled. The crowd laughed along with him. John had never been more appalled.

Then people started shouting out bids. It was a wild at first, people just shouting out numbers at random, often being over shadowed by someone else. 

"One hundred!" A person would shout. Then another would double that number. Someone else would triple it. Vriska changed the first digit into an eight. A couple times there was a person who shouted to add a zero to the end of the highest bed.

As the prices got higher more people dropped out. It became more organized. Soon the price was at $75,000. It seemed to turn into more of a competition than a bid. It seemed like they were more determined to tell everyone that they had so much money they could spend it all on frivolous things like sex.

In the end the winning price was $88,888. Vriska stood up triumphantly and shouted "Suck it!" then began to do a vulgar thrusting motion with her hips. The losers glared at her as she sauntered up to Dave, checking him over as Phil wrapped a collar around his neck and attached a piece of rope to be used as a leash. "Amazing." She muttered before motioning for John and Equius to come along. Dave looked at them with blank eyes.

The crowd started to disperse, only a few sticking around to talk or get one last glance at Dave.

Vriska, Equius, and John all stood around him, the two males looking incredibly uncomfortable. When the yellow saw John he grinned. "Hello again!" He greeted with a gross, toothy smile. John smiled awkwardly at him.

"Uh, yeah. Hey. Phil, right?" The yellow nodded enthusiastically. "Great to see you again." He muttered, not at all meaning it. Phil didn't seem to care.

"Yes, it is. So I see you've taken a liking to Dave." He winked. John again smiled awkwardly, not really sure how he was supposed to respond to that. "You can do whatever you want with him. _Whatever_. He heals quickly since he isn't human and all. I had one client who beat him black in blue but in two days time he was good as new!" That made John's eyes widen and his throat close up.

"Uh..." Vriska interjected.

"It's great that you too know each other and all, but I think it's time for John to start enjoying this gift I got him, hmmmmmmmm?" Phil nodded.

"Right, right. Of course. Have a good time." He said bowing deeply.

The three blues bowed shallowly back then were on their way. Now that Phil was gone John expected Dave to break the gloss eyed act and start talking to him like normal. He walked next to him and nudged him a bit with his elbow. "Hey Dave!" He cried out with faked enthusiasm. Dave barely registered the use of his name. His head lolled to the side and he look at John. He didn't say anything. That made John more upset than anything. Dave was _always_ talking. "Come on buddy! Enough with the act. Remember me? John?" he said, almost frantically. Dave kept staring at him. There was a spark in his eyes, but nothing more than that. His hand rose slowly then touched his face. He ran a thumb over his cheek. At this point Vriska had stopped walking. She just looked at them. Her face was twisted into a very soft grimace. 

Tears were welling up in John's eyes. He had read about things like this, but he never thought it would enter his own life! Then he turned to Vriska. He wasn't sure what to think about her hand in all of this. 

"Why didn't you tell me before we showed up? So I could at least have some time to prepare myself." His voice was even though inside he felt a mixture of confusion and hurt and betrayal. He wanted to cry but that would just be stupid. What has crying ever done? Nothing. So he chocked back the tears and waited for Vriska to shed more light on the situation.

"I..." she sighed a put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing. "I just didn't want to get your hopes up if I was wrong. My sources aren't always the most reliable." she said looking him in the eye. Then she looked at Equius nodding in a way that mean. 'Okay it's time for us to skedaddle.'

Flustered by the whole ordeal Equius just muttered a quick goodbye then fled. Vriska turned her attention back to John. "I'm just going to leave this here with you..." she said, handing him the leash. "And remember that stuff I said about his powers!" she said before fleeing the scene. John blinked, dumbfounded. Beside him Dave stood,looking equally confused but for different reasons.

"So Dave...how about we head to my place." John didn't wait for an answer before he started walking in the direction. Dave followed dutifully. _What next_?, was the only thought running through John's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's also the only thought running through my head  
> *cries*


	5. So much time has been lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** This chapter is pretty heavy on triggers. Heed the tags. This is where all the implied rape comes in.
> 
> Also, if anyone was confused what time period this takes place in, I'd just like to say I am as confused as you are. Sorry for being a shitty author.
> 
> By the way, I'm going to write smut for this and add it as it's own separate fic but part of the Fire Dancer series. It takes place during this chapter but since it isn't relevant to the plot I figured I shouldn't go another month without updating this just because John and Dave bone.

When John and Dave got to his mansion John realized it would be really hard to explain his situation to the servants, not to mention embarrassing. He quickly removed the collar, ignoring Dave's questioning look, and began stripping off his robes so Dave could have something other than pants to wear. He wrapped the clothing around Dave then took his hand and began pulling him towards the entrance of his house.

As soon as they got inside they were met by a maid who happened to be passing by. She bowed politely before asking who his friend was. Looking like a deer in headlights John stuttered out a half-lie about Dave being someone from another village who came to visit. The maid, who hadn't really cared in the first place, accepted his answer then was on her way. John sighed out of relief then ran up the stairs, hoping he could get up to his room before any more awkward encounters. Luck was not on John's side. 

When he reached the top of the stairs he found his father leaning over the railing, watching him with a large, fatherly grin spread across his face. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr..." his dad started, holding out his hand for a handshake. Dave stared blankly then looked to John for orders. The blond had no idea how he was supposed to act. Chances were most people didn't take their whores home to meet the parents. 

After half a minute of tense awkward silence John realized he was going to have to cut in. "His name is Dave." he told his father. Dad redrew his hand then put it in his pocket.

"I'm glad to meet you Dave! My son has told me quite a bit about you. In fact he launched a search in order to find you. It's good to known up you two have been reunited. But please enlighten me, where on earth have you been hiding? Not even the best men could locate you!" Dad was met with a blank stare. 

"How about we get caught up some other time, hmm? Me and Dave have a lot to talk about." Before his Dad could say anything else John took Dave by the hand and rushed him to his room.

The two boys sat across from a each other on John's bed. Looking into Dave's eyes John could see thoughts trying to form. The clouded, blank look was gone. He seemed like a person again. Awkwardly John stared at Dave, who was unblinking. It was at least a minute before John pepped himself up enough to break the silence. "So...Dave. How have you been?" 

Instead of speaking Dave held his arm up to John's line of sight. Before he could vocalize his confusion he noticed fire was lighting up his skin. It was completely red and very bright. John noticed that the fire formed words. When he read it said

we gonna fuck or what

Surprised by Dave's preferred manner of communication, and the words said communication communicated to him, John just sat still, gaping at his arm. It wasn't long before the fire started to shift and form different words.

earth to planet buck tooth anybody home? 

theres a missle that needs to be deployed but weve got to get your permission first

John laughed at that.

"Are you talking about your penis?" He asked. Dave shrugged and again the fire changed into a different set of words.

my penis your penis who cares theyre all the same"

John imagines the last part would have been said bitterly if Dave was talking. The flames were laced with blue and a considerably thicker. He assumed that meant anger. 

"Hey Dave, why aren't you talking?" He asked. Dave stiffened. Immediately his arm flared up. 

thats none of your fucking business

The words were flashed at John. He only had a few seconds to read them before they dissolved back into Dave's flesh. Taken aback by the sudden change of mood, John jumped a little. It was obvious a lot had happened to Dave since he last saw him. Feelings of overwhelming pity made him try to scoot closer to Dave. He put his arm around his shoulder and gave him an awkward hug. Dave looked at him with smoldering eyes full of distrust.

what is this some kind of sick fetish for you

lure your victim into a false sense of security before you have your way with them

and dont even try to pretend you arent a kinky shit why else would you go out and waste money on a dirty mutant prostitute 

Frowning, John shook his head. "It's not like that, I swear! Don't you remember me? I mean, it's been a while since we last spoke, since you disappeared and all, but you've got to have _some_ recollection of that week." Dave's eyes were squinted as he looked him over and tried to figure out if they had met. He shook his head. 

nope i havent got a clue who you are

sorry bro guess you werent as good a lay as you thought

John's face lit up red. "Oh my god! We didn't have sex!" He sputtered. "We were just friends! Really good friends." Dave raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I'm serious. We didn't even hug or anything! Geez." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. How could Dave not remember him? Maybe their short "friendship" wasn't as precious to him as John thought. Sighing he tried to think of something else to say that would make the situation slightly less awkward. 

so...sex or what?

"Dave!" John shouted angrily, moving away from him."You don't even remember who I am, there is no way I'm going to do you. Just, stay quiet and give me some time to think about...stuff. This whole...situation is weird. First you disappear after you boss has a weird talk with some shady guy, the out of no where I found out you're a prostitute. It's a lot to take in, okay? So...you stay over there while I think."

you sure bout that bro? 

you seem like a nice guy

a little dorky but in a hot way

id hate for you to waste all this money and not even get a nice hand job out of it

John pointedly ignored him, with a bright red face, and turned the other way.

Stewing in his thoughts John tried to remember any detail of their short time together that would have made a significant impact on Dave. To John the whole experience had been something to remember, but Dave probably had a lot of those. There probably wasn't anything unique about John. He started to get down on himself. Then he remember the veil.

He tried to find where he had stored it by crawling around, all over the floor. He could feel Dave's judging gaze, and the loud crackle of fire. John assumed that was Dave's way of alerting him to the fact that he had more to say, but John ignored him.

Buried deep in a drawer was the veil. He held it up in triumph and showed it to Dave who stared blankly. "Oh come on! How do you not remember _this_? You gave it too me during on of your shows. And it looks really expensive! I kind of doubt you give these out to just _anybody_." Dave took in a deep breath and exhaled through his nose, seeming exasperated. 

look dude ive got no idea who you are

just deal with it

normally id be fine letting you blow off a bunch of money talking to me about made up shit but you seem like a cool dude and i wouldnt mind getting my freak on with you

thats not something that happens often and id like to take advantage of the opportunity

im not trying to be vain or anything but i dont understand why youd rather waste time talking when youve got a sexy guy right in front of you practically begging for your dick

Then a look of realization crossed his face and he smirked. That smirk made John dread to read what he was going to say next. Eventually curiosity won him over.

could it be youre stalling because you dont want me to find out youve got some sort of erectile dysfunction thing going on

buck tooth to planet earth missile is experiencing difficulties 

were gonna need some damn good magical herbs to help get this erect

maybe even a personal meating with a witch

Rolling his eyes John shoved Dave a little bit. "You spell 'meeting' wrong, dumbass."

i know

Dave wiggled his eyebrows making John laugh. John could see him biting his lip in an attempt not join in on the laughter.

After John's guffaws quieted down the silence became kind of awkward, again. He was starting to accept that maybe he just hadn't been as important to Dave as he thought he was. Sighing he resolved to bring up something else.

"So...your line of business sure has changed." Dave furrowed his brow.

what do you mean

John gestured vaguely at Dave's state of dress. "You're a...prostitute now."

ive always been a prostitute?

and it isnt prostitution really

im more like a sex slave who gets passed around for money

prostitution is a choice

i was forced into this

but seriously dude you dont want to hear my whole life story lets just get on with it

"But I **do** want to hear your story! Because apparently you don't remember anything about me and now you're saying you've always been a...you know. I'm really confused Dave..."

 

well i dunno how to help you with that

sorry

John looked sadly at Dave. Suddenly he got an idea. "Rose! You've got to remember Rose." He said hopefully. When he was met with no spark of recognition he fell. "Maybe they...did something to you." He muttered to himself, looking at a box on his dresser, unsure if this situation called for what was inside.

As if upset from lack of attention Dave tapped on his shoulder. When John ignored him he draped himself over his lap and his stomach lit up with words. Sighing John looked down at him.

what are you looking at?

"I'm thinking about calling Rose. Maybe she can help out."

whos rose

"Rose is your half sister! I think. At least, that's what she told me. I kind of forgot to ask her to explain more about how you guys are related." The last part was mumbled to himself. As soon as Dave heard the word sister he sat up and looked alert.

woah wait what

ive got a sister?

John nodded. The words on his arm lit up so quick John almost worried that it hurt.

is she like me

The look of desperation on his face made John want to cry. "Well she looks like you! Blond and pale. But she isn't...part fire, if that's what you mean." Dave visibly deflated, then hardened, like he didn't want to seem as though he cared. "She isn't totally normal though! When she gets really emotional she...turns black and starts speaking in gibberish. I've only seen it happen once but it's not like you're alone in the being kind of weird department. Also she does magic!"

Dave's skeptic look spoke for itself.

"No, it's true. Watch." He said before getting up and heading to the box. Inside was a black rock, about the size of his palm. Using Morse code he typed out

get over here quick!

It was barely a second before the room went blinding white and in the center stood Rose, dressed in a pair of lavender, silk pajamas. "This had better be important." She said turning to look at John. "If you are just 'checking to make sure it works' again I won't be as lenient with punishment as I was last time." Then she saw Dave.

Her slender purple eyes widened a fraction and in her eyes John could see a million emotions whirring. "Dave." She said. In her voice was more than a hint of shock and loads of relief and happiness. "Oh my goodness, I was so worried about you." She stated striding towards him before wrapping her arms around his naked waist and squeezed. She pulled back and stroked his hair. "Are you all right? Where on earth did you disappear to? That _man_ didn't hurt you, did he?" Dave looked overwhelmed by the affection and familiarity. 

When he didn't speak Rose got suspicious. "Normally I can't get you to close that ever yapping orifice of yours. What could possibly have made you elect silence instead of babble?"

Dave pushed her away awkwardly then showed her his arm.

stuff

Rose looked at John, concern showing on her face. "I don't know what's wrong with him but he doesn't remember me or you and he won't talk. Also he's a prostitute! Or...uh sex slave. 'Cause he was forced and stuff."

Now Rose was getting angry. She didn't bother to hide it. "What." She snapped rhetorically. Her heated gaze fell on Dave, who flinched under her look. Dark energy was crackling in the air.

"Oh god..." John muttered.

"They raped you." Rose stated bluntly, expecting confirmation. Dave did an uncomfortable shrugging/nodding motion.

yeah i guess

i dont really remember it

or at least

i try not too

Rose put a hand to her head and sat down on John's bed. She started taking in deep breaths but she was still shaking with anger. The severity of this situation started to crash on John and he got angry as well. Dave stood by, confused by how angry these strangers were getting about something he was, at this point, used too. 

"Do you have any...magic stuff you could do to help him get his memory back?" He asked Rose. The woman looked down at her hands, which were calloused and littered with scars.

"I...could. In theory. I've seen rumors floating around of spells and magic meant to help bring things forth from where stored in the subconscious. In actuality the mind remembers everything. But bringing said memories to the mind's surface always proves difficult." She looked up at Dave who was trying to make it not known how confused he was. When she kept starting more words showed up on Dave's arms.

what is it

She stood up, determined. "Alright. Let's do this." She said walking around John's room. "We'll need to get some supplies before we can perform the ceremony, however. You called on such short notice that I couldn't gather any of mine." John groaned but complied nonetheless. He handed her a piggy bank and in all seriousness said "Use it well."

Rose rolled her eyes but took it. "I should be back in about 45 minutes. Do try to keep yourselves out of trouble while I'm gone. And if you must fuck, finish before I return. Three knocks is all the warning you'll get." As she walked out, smirking she heard John call out her name angrily. Seconds later he did the same with Dave's. she could almost hear the blush in his voice.

* * *

Rose Lalonde, dark magic extraordinaire, walked down they alley to where she knew a shop could offer her help. Around her body was a black cloak she had stolen from a closet in John's house. It made her look much more sketchy than was necessary but no one would take her seriously if they saw her handmade pajamas, which were embroidered with hearts and cats. 

When she walked into the building her nose was assaulted with a million smells. Some pleasant, some not so much. Looking around she tried to find something that smelled just right. This was difficult however due to the over abundance of power smells there were. Nothing was labeled in a sensible way, the only form of labeling were random colors that supposedly meant something yet had no patter, none that Rose could decipher anyway. Sighing, Rose headed to the front desk, not in the mood to deal with the eccentric shop owner.

"Hello, Terezi." She greeted reluctantly. Terezi cackled and leaned over the desk. 

"Hello Rooose." She grinned, 'staring' at her through red tinted glasses. "Need me to help you sniff out some more supplies?"

"Don't I always?" She sighed, making it obvious how unwilling she was to play along with her mind games. "Please, skip the tomfoolery. This business is urgent." She said, seriously. Terezi cackled again but respected her wishes and cut to the chase. 

"Fine. Party pooper. So, what do you need?" She asked, her mouth twisting into a shape that vaguely resembled a question mark. Rose was always baffled by this ability. 

"All I require are some simple herbs that will quickly and effectively cure what could be classified under the term amnesia. I'm certain that is not the true name of what I'm dealing with, but I don't know how else to explain it too you."

Terezi came from behind her desk and started sniffing around. "Hmmm. Symptoms?" she asked, adjusting her glasses. She liked to pretend she actually could see, even though her eyes had been irrevocably destroyed.

"Personality has stayed the same but significant chunks of memory have been lost. Important things like family, friends, previous employment. Shows no signs of even the vaguest recognition. Can no longer speak and communicates through...writing things down. I don't know if that last part is a side effect of the memory loss however since the speech patterns and vocabulary is still relatively the same." Terezi nodded then went back behind a book shelf and started sniffing its flat back.

"Aha! I found!" She exclaimed before using her sharp nails to scrape off some of the bark. "This should help some. Oh also..." she walked over to a window and picked up a jar filled with something thick and dark orange. She sprinkled in the bark then took a big whiff. "Mmmm. Delicious!" 

Rose watched with fascination as she moved around her shop. "I'll never understand how you've trained your nose so well." She commented.

"I could teach, if you wanted."

"No thanks." 

Terezi laughed.

* * *

Just as Rose had ~~warned~~ promised, a quick knock on the door was the only warning John had before Rose walked in. "I do hope you'll manage to keep your respective libidos under control long enough to accommodate me." A hand was gracefully placed over her eyes to give them time to get ready. When she took her hand away she found the sight in front of her was not at all accommodating. On the floor, scrambling to put his shirt back on was John. His face was completely red. Dave was laying next to hm. His pants were dangerously low on his hips, he was wiping streaks of white of his stomach and chest, and the look on his face was nothing short of utterly satisfied.

"I'll pretend I have no idea what transpired here prier to my return." She said before John could object and go into denial. "I gathered the necessary materials. Sit by and try not to get in the way." They both did as requested. 

While Rose drew circles and combined herbs and spoke spells under her breath Dave started a conversation with John. 

so this chick is my sister?

John nodded. "Yep! At least, that's what she told me. Actually, I think she said she was your half sister. Something like that."

which parent do we share

John thought for a minute. "I dunno. You'll have to ask her that." He said nodding to Rose. Dave grimaced. 

i dont really want to

she scares me

It was hard for John to resist laughing out loud. Rose looked up from her work and raised an eyebrow. The dark haired boy tried to stifle his laughter. "I-it's nothing." He choked out. Rose looked skeptical but all she did was return to her work. 

see what i mean

"Well, maybe when you get your memory back she'll seem less scary. Probably. Just a little bit."

thats reassuring

"Hahaha. Sorry." he apologized.

Then they sat in awkward silence. The main thing which made it awkward was the fact that Rose was muttering scary sounding nonsense and drawing with her blood on the floor. Neither was sure how they were supposed to react in the situation, so they sat and watched.

It took almost half an hour for her to finish. John was excited to see what she had been working on for so long but was disappointed when he found that it was nothing more than a circle with green stuff all around it. "Rose, what is this shit?"

"This shit, as you so eloquently choose to describe it, is necessary to set the mood for a spell used to bring forth memories. It may not look like much but it is actually essential to the process. Now, Dave, I'm going to need you to set this part on fire." she requested, pointing towards a large mound of dark orange substance that had been sprinkled with stiff, translucent pieces of _something_. 

Dave nodded then walked over to the stuff. He turned his finger into fire then used it too light the thing on fire. 

The fire was mostly yellow spread from the small mound across the green plants littered across the floor until there were lines of eerily controlled fire all across the floor. John stepped back and saw that the flames were in the shape of a thick curve, with more more girth on the bottom and longer there as well. There were some globs of pink that looked kind of like raw meat. Up from the...structure blue, wispy smoke began rising, fogging up the room. 

"Rose...? What is this supposed to be?" He asked looking up at her. "This isn't going too...hurt us, is it?" She shook her head.

"Of course not. That would be counterproductive. Just breath in deeply, okay Dave? It may hurt a bit, since chances are whatever they used to suppress your memories is not going to give up easy, but bear through it." Dave nodded then started to breath in the smoke. John did the same.

He was surprised to find that it did not actually hurt to be in his lungs. If anything it felt kind of good. 

Memories of his childhood, that he had long forgotten, began to arise in his mind. He could see them vividly. Back when his mother was alive and she would tell him bed time stories to help him go to sleep. The time his father had taken him to a fair in a neighboring town and he had thrown up because he ate too much funnel cake. When he first met Rose who introduced him to Kanaya who introduced him to Jade. Little moments in their teenage years that had, at the time, seemed to be the most important things in the world.

Then an unfamiliar scene started to play in his ears, but he could not see anything. Only sound was in this memory. He heard Dave's voice, rough and scarred. He spoke softly but thanks to how clear the memory was he could focus in and hear every word.

"I'm so sorry John. I shouldn't have tried to drag you into this shit...Sorry for not giving you a proper good bye. You deserve that much at least, don't you? Too bad I'm a fucking coward. Besides, if you knew you'd do something dumb and try to 'help' me. I'll be fine. Probably." John felt a hand on his hair. He wished he could reach out to dream Dave and hold him close, but it was only a memory. He was powerless.

"I think they're going to make me a stripper or something...Fuck who am I kidding. I know what they're going to do. They're going to drug me up and let old perverts rape me. Might as well except my fate now. Can't wait to have a whole bunch of wrinkly shlong rubbed across my face. I love dick, this should be a dream come true, right? Heh. Fuck..."

Tears started to roll down John's cheeks. "Dave no..." Suddenly all he wanted to do was hold Dave and to comfort him. Then he remembered that Dave was actually in the room with him. Remembering the same things John was. Remembering what had happened to him...

With urgency broke out of the memory and found that Dave was on his knees sweating and breathing heavily. A couple of times he screamed, trying to make words but they didn't come out right. Rose was bent down next to him, trying to calm him down. John realized something that he probably should have thought about before.

"Rose, what if people hear him?" He shouted over Dave. She didn't look at him while she answered.

"I sound proofed the room before hand, don't worry." She answered curtly before going back to whispering in that strange language, trying to calm him down.

"Maybe we should get rid of the smoke?" John suggested. Rose looked torn.

"But...I want all of his memories to return. What if something crucial is still lost to us? I warned him before hand that there would be pain. He's strong. He can get through it."

"Rose he's probably reliving being raped! I don't _care_ if he still can't remember, you need to put this fire out." John shouted, stomping his foot.

"...You're right." she sighed. "I'm sorry. I was being selfish." She hurried over to one of the jars she had brought back from wherever she went. It was filled with something with the consistency of water that smelled sweet and was tinted with pink. She poured all of it out, over the fire. Once the fire was gone the smoke began to clear out. Dave had curled up in a ball and was sobbing. John rushed over to him.

"Are...you okay?" He asked running a hand through Dave's hair. 

His long, pale arms wrapped themselves around his head, covering his face completely from John's view.

i didnt want to remember any of that

"I'm sorry for...you know. What I did earlier. When Rose was gone." He muttered quietly, feeling his stomach churn from guilt.

its fine

i wanted it

it felt great

dont feel bad

youre not like them

That didn't stop John from feeling guilty. He could feel Rose's gaze on him, but she was polite enough to comply with her earlier statement and acted as though she was ignorant.

"Hey how come Dave still won't talk?" John asked suddenly. "I figured he just...forgot or something."

they cut my tongue out

"Oh."

Rose walked over to Dave and sat down on the bed next to his spot on the floor. "How are you feeling?" She asked. Dave didn't answer, just crawled up onto the bed and laid himself across her lap. "I see."

Quiet filled the room, much like the blue smoke had. It was heavy and visible but not suffocating. It almost felt warm. For a while none of them moved, they just allowed Dave to rest. Eventually Dave fell asleep in Rose's lap. "What should we do next?" John asked.

"For the moment let's just leave him be. Once he wakes up we can see what he remembers." She said.

"Yeah, but what after that? I dunno how long I have Dave for. What are we going to do when Phil comes and asks for him back?" Rose pursed her black painted lips.

"Well obviously we're not going to be giving Dave back."

* * *

It was only a couple of hours before Dave woke up again. Rose and John were seated next to him, eating their dinners. When Rose came down Dad had been very confused but she was able to convince him that he had just missed her as she came up behind Dave. John always found her way with words frightening.

Since it was a 'special occasion' Dad let John eat in his room with Rose. He knew John needed his alone time with his friends sometimes and he respected that. It didn't stop him from knocking on the door every so often to make sure they were okay, or too see if they wanted any food.

During one of these routine check ups the knock had been louder and Dave had jolted upright. Instinctively he tried to speak but nothing intelligible came out. Embarrassed, he covered his mouth.

i mean

what happened

one second i was all...

now im here

Rose shifted closer to him then started to explain. "Forgive me, brother. I was not aware of how powerful the remedy for memory lose was. I figured it would simply...help you remember. Not force you to relive past events. Even so I should have taken into account the possibility of the harmful reaction bound to come with remembering what was done to you. I'm so sorry." Dave gulped and nodded.

its cool

just dont do it again

She smiled a little bit and took his hand. "I promise I won't act so recklessly again." Dave snorted.

i doubt that but ok sis

if you say so

Then Dave noticed John looking awkward and left out. He turned from Rose to him.

hey

"Hi."

so...

you bought 

or i guess rented me

"Yep. That's a thing that happened."

sure is

Neither boy was sure what they were supposed to do about their 'feelings' next. Figuring that she was only making things more awkward, Rose decided to step out to go to the ladies room. John wasn't sure if he was grateful or not.

Once it was just the two of them John couldn't avoid the conversation they needed to have. "So...Dave." He started out looking up but then immediately transferring his eyes elsewhere. As soon as he had looked Dave's face his eyes had locked onto his intense red eyes, staring directly at him. It was unnerving to say the least.

"There is a _slight_ possibility that I am, like, really really _really_ inlikewithyou." The last couple of words were rushed out as John hid his face in his hands. He heard a sigh but didn't dare look up.

That is, until he felt heat pressing his arm.

He yelped and jumped up. Dave was smirking up at him and blowing out the fire on his finger.

i like you too idiot

now get down here and kiss me

And he did.

* * *

They were only left alone for as long as Rose saw fit, which wasn't very long. When she walked back into the room John instantly pulled away from Dave, which made both blonds role their eyes. Soon after they started making actual plans.

Since it was highly likely that Phil would show up the next day, or soon after, to collect Dave Rose suggested letting him stay at her house. She was high up enough that it was unlikely a yellow would even be allowed to step foot on her lawn without being arrested, no matter what his reason was.

They left early morning, at about 2 am, on horseback. The stone John had used to call her only provided her with a one way trip. 

dont witches usually travel with brooms though

That comment had earned Dave a smack.

Before they left John had given Dave another kiss on the mouth and promised to visit him soon. The dark haired boy watched as his new lover ran off with one of his best friends and hope that he would be able to live up to his promise. He also hoped that he would be a convincing enough liar when Phil came around. The apprehension had his stomach churning as he laid his head down to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was rereading this fic some time earlier and I realized woah Rose is just FULL of contradictions. I should probably go back and fix that.


	6. Happily ever after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just can't muster up the strength to write an actual chapter. I don't really like johndave that much and really this fic should've just been a oneshot but I wanted to write porn and everything kind of got away from me anyway it would be mean to just NOT END IT so here you go this is basically what was going to happen. 
> 
> If anyone wants to like write an actual last chapter or something that would be cool but until then this is the end of fire dancer. I hope you enjoyed the ride~
> 
> I'll probably go back and edit and rewrite stuff sometime later if I ever get inspiration or something

The next day Phil showed up at John's house and John was like "Dude Dave ran away I am so sorry I couldn't stop him!" and Phil was like "What how is that even possible I put a spell on him or something??" and he wanted to get angry at John but couldn't because John is higher up and stuff.

So he sent out a bunch of spies and wasted all his money trying to find Dave using the best detectives money could buy. Rose's magic was way better than those detectives. Eventually Phil went broke and probably ended up just another gutter yellow-tier or yellow whatever he was poor okay

John took Dave to live with him and they had hot sex all the time and took over the company after Dad got really old and they probably adopted children or something and it was really great and everyone was happy.


End file.
